Where an offender was allowed legal aid for his defence, a Crown Court may make a Recovery of Defence Costs Order that he repay all or part of his defence costs.[7][8]

An acquitteddefendant will usually be allowed a Defendant's Costs Order to pay for his defence unless there are special circumstances such as his having acted in such an unreasonable manner as to bring suspicion on himself.[9][10] Since October 2012, it has not been possible to recover private defence costs for Crown Court proceedings. This means that defendants choosing private, as opposed to Legal Aid, representation in the Crown Court cannot recover their costs even if they are acquitted of all charges.